Table 2.

Current approved and experimental therapeutics for alcohol use disorders.

	Drug	Mechanism	Efficacy
Approved	Naltrexone	Competitive opioid receptor antagonist	23% relapse at 12 weeks (Volpicelli et al., 1992) 35% relapse at 6 months (Volpicelli et al., 1997)
	Extended release Naltrexone	Competitive opioid receptor antagonist	Reduces heavy drinking more reliably than relapse prevention (Garbutt et al., 2005)
	Disulfiram	Acetaldehyde dehydrogenase inhibitor	Reduced number of drinking days by 35–43% in compliant patients (Fuller et al., 1986)
	Acamprosate	Enhance GABAA receptor function mGluR1-family antagonist	36% abstinence at 6 months (Mann et al., 2004)
Experimental	Topiramate	Increases GABAergic activity; AMPA/kainate receptor antagonist	67% success at 4 weeks; 46% success at 12 weeks (Baltieri et al., 2008)
	Gabapentin	Inhibits voltage-gated calcium channels	17% abstinence and 45% no heavy drinking at 12 weeks (Mason et al., 2014)
	Baclofen	GABAB receptor agonist	Not different from placebo (Garbutt et al., 2010)
	Sertraline	Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor	No difference from placebo in participants with a history of depression (Pettinati et al., 2001)
	Ondansetron	5HT3 receptor antagonist α7 nAChR antagonist	Reduces alcohol consumption in early-onset alcohol dependence (Kranzler et al., 2003)
	Aripiprazole	DA D2 partial antagonist 5HT1A partial agonist 5HT2 antagonist	No difference from placebo, treatment-related adverse events? (Anton et al., 2008)
	Nalmefene	κ opioid receptor antagonist	Reduces alcohol consumption in detoxified alcohol-dependent individuals, especially in combination with cognitive therapy (Gual et al., 2013)